Arrived at TH at 10:30 Thursday morning. Large parking lot half full. No permit needed for weekdays. Used National Park pass for parking. Trail was intermittently muddy under the canopy but dry once out in the open. Yellow flowers everywhere. Views of the Columbia and mountains beyond were amazing. Not windy at all up at the top. Slipping and sliding on the descent so sticks were a must for me. My daughter did fine without any. Gaia 6.62 miles, 2813 ft ascent.

Steep in several sections. Above the tree line can be cold and windy.

Trail is snow free and some flowers are beginning to appear. Good stiff climb to the summit. 

Sunday, March 3rd, 2024

Trail is in good condition all the way to Puppy Dog Point. There virtually no snow on the trail until you reach the junction where the Difficult and More Difficult Trail rejoin. I used microspikes & hiking poles from that point and up. The snow on the trail is well packed down so could probably manage without them but definitely helpful on the way down.

Above Puppy Dog Point the snow gets deeper (6" - 1'). Lots of postholes but following others' footsteps helped from sinking too deep. I had gaiters which kept the snow out of my boots :).

It was snowing and foggy which made visibility pretty low. The narrow section was a little daunting but not too bad. Snow had certainly filled in previous boot prints. At the junction for the Augspurger Trail, the snow was even a little deeper. It was also sorta soft so treading as lightly as possible kept me on top of the snow.

Once back to Puppy Dog Point, I was able to relax a bit and make my descent. It was so gorgeous up there even though no many views due to the clouds/fog. I took my microspikes off at the same place where I put them on. Smooth sailing the rest of the way down.

Quiet day at Dog Mtn. Only a 4-5 cars when I was there. I saw 5 people on the trail.

SUMMARY. Great hiking day, lovely weather, fine Gorge views. Trekking poles sufficient for traction. 

TRACTION. There was one not terribly long icy/snowy slippery stretch, between the reconnection of the "difficult" and "more difficult" trails and the Puppy viewpoint. I found trekking poles adequate there. Over a longer extent, it would have been worth microspikes, and I did see someone spike up (surely to spike down shortly after).  There is some muddy trail past the Puppy, but no problema with poles. There were a number of snow stretches, but they generally came with a nice  walkable border path of soil. 

WEATHER. Mountain Weather Forecast had predicted summit temps in the 30s; winds 20-25 mph; morning clouds and afternoon light showers. Turned out, weather was perfect, and clear apart from some clouds around the volcanos in the view. The Puppy was very windy, but not at all the trail terminus, where people lunch and lounge looking west down the Gorge.  Felt over 40 degrees there around 11:30.  

TRAILS. On Dog Mountain Trail, I took the "more difficult" option going up and the "difficult" option going down. (I'd recommend the reverse order, but it doesn't much matter.) Both trails were in great shape, and I don't see either being rated difficult, IF snow/ice conditions aren't a problem. The "difficult" option has some views. The other option doesn't, but as forest walks go, it's lovely: quiet, open, great tread. I was not fast, spent 45 minutes on top, and still finished in 4 1/2 hours. I went past the lunch terminus following boot snow prints on a nontrail to within ten feet of the branchy mess of no-view "summit"; as advertised, this gives no view, just a little low quality walk in the woods.  

AMENITIES. There isn't a toilet building on the parking lot; it is a short ways up Dog Mountain Trail.